A Christmas Prayer
by MissEclipse
Summary: Vietnam era. Hannibal wasn't a particularly religious man, but when Murdock goes missing four days before Christmas, he offers up his own silent prayer of hope. Reviews welcome.
1. Chapter 1

[**_Disclaimer:_****_I don't own anything but the Box Set!_**]

**Chapter 1: Tailspin!**

[_Timeline: Ban Me Thuot – 21 December 1969_]

It was a cold, bleak morning. Two Huey crews had responded to a call to pick up a bunch of marines in the Ban Me Thuot area and bring them back to Nha Trang Headquarters. They were perched precariously behind a large boulder, on the side of the valley on a 30-45 degrees slope, with Charlie closing in fast on them from the north.

Captain HM Murdock was #2 in the formation. The lead ship had descended first, just as the enemy artillery started to thunder around them. They managed to pick up six of the 12 men before taking off again, under cover of the remaining marines left on the ground.

Murdock immediately began his descent down the side of the valley. The Gunner and Crew Chief were firing furiously at the jungle as he made his approach. He had just cleared the tree tops at the front of the LZ and had cut transitional lift.

Suddenly and without warning, his pedals went soft, causing him to make an uncontrolled right pedal turn. Before he had time to react, the Huey was facing 90 degrees to the right, flying in a sideways motion. The Huey continued to spin round several times, in quick half-turn movements. Murdock had lost all power to the tail rotor cable.

"Strap yourselves in!" he yelled frantically over the intercom. "You're in for one hell of a ride!"

The marines and his crew immediately strapped themselves down, a look of sheer terror and panic plastered over their faces.

Murdock couldn't understand it. He was damn sure they hadn't been hit. The only thing he could think of was that the phenolic pulley in the vertical stabilizer cowling must have broken, causing the cable to slip out. The resulting slack in the cable appeared to have fooled the tail rotor into thinking it wasn't needed.

They were spinning round faster and faster and Murdock was actually beginning to feel dizzy! He managed to steer the Huey a little and tried to aim for the LZ. On about the 4th half-spin, he knew he had to somehow set the aircraft down. But first he had to get rid of the rotors, otherwise his bird would just flounder around like a fish out of water when it hit the ground.

As the tail cleared the upside of the slope, the pilot gave it his best guess and cut the throttle in the hope that he would stop parallel to the slope. With no power to the main motor, he was now in a hovering autoration at about 20 feet up. Just before the right skid touched down, he gave full right cyclic and dug the rotor into the slope as hard as he could. The impact caused the blades to shear off at the mast, leaving the transmission in place.

Murdock let out a heavy sigh of relief. He was afraid that if the transmission had also come out, it would have pitched forward, bringing the blades crashing through the cockpit area, killing both himself and his Peter Pilot.

The aircraft then fell over on to its side, and slid a few yards down the icy slope. Fortunately it became wedged against another large rock, bringing it to a standstill, otherwise it probably would have ended up sliding down the valley.

"Sorry about that old thing!" apologised Murdock to his Huey, as he quickly turned the engine off. As soon as he moved, a sharp twinge shot up his back, causing him to instantly black out with the pain. With Charlie hot on their heels, things didn't look good for the occupants of the crashed Huey.

[_AN: This did actually happen to a pilot. __If anyone is interested in the intricate mechanisms of helicopters, please see glossary at the end of the story.__It might help to explain the above procedure a little better without bogging the reader down with too much unnecessary information._]

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[_Nha_ _Trang Headquarters_]

It was now early afternoon and there was a sombre mood around the camp. The men had watched, in quiet trepidation, as the two departing Hueys had airlifted off earlier, in response to the SOS call. By all accounts, the crews should, by now, be making their way back home.

Despite the cold weather, Sergeant BA Baracus was outside in the motor pool, fiddling with the engine of an army jeep. Every now and then he would look nervously up into the sky, a worried frown puckering up his forehead as he watched the grey snow clouds gathering above.

"Where is that fool!" he muttered quietly to himself. "Hope he ain't got himself into trouble."

Meanwhile, back in the hooch, First Lieutenant Templeton Peck (aka Faceman) was decorating the Christmas Tree. As he was Supplies Officer, Murdock had been pestering him for days to get some festive decorations.

Face had groaned inwardly to himself. Christmas was a bitter-sweet time of year for him. In fact, he hated Christmas almost as much as he hated his birthday. He had always thought that these were moments that could only be shared with families. Being an orphan, it just reminded him of all the family celebrations he had missed out on.

"Oh, please, Faceman!" Murdock had whined beseechingly. "It's our first Christmas together as the A-Team. We can't have Christmas without decorations."

The rest of the team joined in with Murdock's pitiful laments.

"Or mince pies!" declared Second Lieutenant Ray Brenner.

"Or brandy and cigars!" interjected Colonel Hannibal Smith.

"And don't forget the crackers!" chimed in Jim "Fitz" Fitzgerald, the team's Radio Officer.

"And you betta get a tree, sucker!" growled BA.

"And a carrot for the reindeer!" finished off Murdock, with a big goofy grin.

The child-like enthusiasm on the pilot's face was contagious. The team had only been together for about six months, but Face was learning fast that he could never say no to Murdock – especially when he flashed those doleful brown eyes in his direction!

So true to his work, the conman soon turned the dull, dreary hooch into a little Santa's grotto. His locker and army trunk were crammed-packed with all types of goodies – from candy to bottles of mulled wine.

The only thing that was missing was the tree, which Face had managed to procure just after Murdock had responded to the SOS call. He made himself busy, adorning the tree with an array of brightly coloured baubles and tinsel. He couldn't wait to see the Captain's face when he clapped eyes on it!

Face had just finished putting the star on top of the tree, when the unmistakable drone of rotor blades hummed in the distance. Everyone rushed outside. The snow clouds had released their heavy burden and large snowflakes were beginning to fall. Through the white haze, they saw only one bird descending down to the airfield.

"Where's the second Huey?" exclaimed Ray in alarm, as the men ran to meet the embarking crew and their passengers. Their worst fears were confirmed as they realised Murdock's bird hadn't returned.

Despite their best efforts, all attempts to send out a rescue party had proved useless. With the snow now falling heavily, the Hueys were grounded. The fading light also meant that any foot patrol would get hopelessly lost in the dark, vast, Vietnamese jungle.

It wasn't until late the next morning when the pilots were given permission to fly again. The A-Team flew with the lead ship, and very soon the stricken Huey was spotted, lying exactly where it had crashed.

But there was no sign of Murdock, his crew or any passengers. Blood marked the scene, but no bodies were found, possibly giving hope that they had all survived the crash.

So this could only mean one of two things. Firstly, the survivors had been caught by the VC and were now prisoners of war. Or secondly, they had managed to escape the enemy's clutches.

Either way, their chances weren't good. The VC did not take prisoners lightly and were particularly cruel to pilots. On the other hand, if they had found refuge in the jungle overnight – and bearing in mind there could be casualties - their chances of surviving the bitter cold and snow were very slim.

It was time to pray for a miracle.


	2. Chapter 2: When hope runs deep

**Chapter 2: When hope runs deep**

[_Christmas day_]

It was Christmas morning and Face was lying on his bed, alone. BA and Ray had gone to breakfast, but Face had hardly eaten anything since Murdock's disappearance. Fitz had gone to the Radio Room with Hannibal. This had been their regular early morning routine as they hoped to bring back some good news to the team about their missing comrades. The weather had gradually deteriorated during the last couple of days, making any further searches completely impossible to undertake.

With a heavy sigh, Face got up from his bed and opened his trunk. He took out some carefully wrapped presents and put them under the tree. He had bought Hannibal a box of his favourite cigars and Fitz a bottle of whiskey. BA and Ray each had a silver picture frame, to replace the rather crude frames that currently held photos of BA's mama and Ray's wife, Trish.

Murdock had been the most difficult to buy for. He didn't really have any vices and appeared not to put too much value in material things. In the end Face had opted for a 1969 Marvel's Greatest Comics Annual, which contained various stories and facts about all his super heroes.

As an afterthought, he had picked up some treats for Murdock's imaginary dog, Billy. Face thought it best not to dwell on exactly what Murdock would do with them! But if Billy was important to the pilot, then he was important to Face too.

He pressed "play" on the nearby tape-recorder and the sound of "_O Little Town of Bethlehem_" rang out. Face was surprised to find that the carols had brought him a sense of calmness, filling him with an inner strength he didn't know he had. It had been a long time since he had put his faith in anyone or anything, but he sure as hell felt close to God right now.

BA and Ray returned from breakfast. Face looked up expectantly, but BA shook his head sadly to confirm that there was still no news. Nobody spoke. Ray sat on his bed and pretended to clean his rifle, for about the hundredth time during the last three days. BA came to join Face by the tree. He put his arm round him, protectively, as if to shield him from his obvious distress.

A few minutes later Hannibal arrived at the hooch. Fitz had refused to leave the Radio Room. He preferred to stay and use his talents and connections to undertake the almost impossible task of locating the missing men. But with the weather being so bad, there wasn't an awful lot of activity going on anywhere, so no sightings had been witnessed.

Hannibal stood in quiet contemplation for a few seconds, leaning unnoticed against the doorframe. The hooch was dimly lit, except for the shimmering glow of the lights on the tree. Hannibal chucked to himself as he surveyed the room filled with all its glittering regalia. For someone who claimed he didn't like Christmas, Face sure had gone to a lot of trouble!

The soft, peaceful music in the background helped to bring a sense of serenity to the highly-charged atmosphere. His eyes rested on his three team mates, who were kneeling down in front of the tree. As he walked further into the room, he realised that they were, in fact, praying.

Face's eyes were tightly closed and his hands were gripped together with such a force, that Hannibal could see the whites of his knuckles. He was moving his lips feverishly in silent prayer, his handsome features twisted up in anguish.

BA was kneeling next to Face. His usual gruff exterior somehow seemed softer as his head was bowed in genuine reflection. He too was muttering quietly under his breath.

Ray, who was kneeling on the other side of Face, seemed to be staring, transfixed, at the star at the top of the tree. His hands were pressed together in the praying position, a deep thoughtful expression ingrained on his face.

Hannibal took his place and knelt down next to Ray. He wasn't a particularly religious man, but he did believe in hope and justice. Ever the optimist, it wasn't in his character to give up, no matter how much the odds were stacked against him.

He was convinced that the missing party were on their way home. After all, bad weather, possible casualties and having to navigate through enemy territory, could easily take them a good couple of days to walk back to HQ. Being taken prisoner was not an option. Still, he figured it wouldn't do any harm to get a little bit of help from the Man Upstairs.

After a short time, Face's eyes flickered open. He reached across with his hand and quickly turned the tape-recorder off, listening intently. The others looked at him in surprise, as he suddenly jumped up and raced out of the hooch. Alerted by Face's apparent sense of instinct that something was about to happen, they quickly followed suit.

Once they were outside, Face came to an abrupt halt. He tilted his head to the side, his acute hearing obviously tuned into something the others couldn't yet hear.

"What is it, kid?" asked Hannibal.

"Listen!" hissed Face, his body trembling in anticipation.

Somewhere from the vicinity of the jungle, Murdock's voice could be heard, raucously belting out a rendition of "_Deck the Halls_".

_Deck the halls with boughs of holly,  
>Fa la la la la, la la la la.<br>Tis the season to be jolly,  
>Fa la la la la, la la la la.<br>Don we now our gay apparel,  
>Fa la la, la la la, la la la.<br>Troll the ancient Yule tide carol,  
>Fa la la la la, la la la la.<em>

Towards the end of the carol, several other men had joined in with the "fa la la la la-s", adding harmonies to Murdock's smooth, baritone voice. It wasn't long before the group emerged from the jungle, still singing triumphantly as they made their way into camp.

By now, pretty much everyone had appeared in the compound, with a confused look on their faces. The confusion quickly turned to joy as they saw the missing troupe of men standing amongst them. Everyone started to clap as they moved forward to welcome them back.

However it was BA who reached the group first. He bulldozed his way through the congregation of men and made a beeline for Murdock. He pulled him into a bear-like hug, almost winding him in the process.

Murdock turned to his Crew Chief, grinning smugly.

"See Griff!" he exclaimed. "I told ya the Big Mean Angry Mudsucker would miss me!

BA immediately let him go, snarling at him in return. But there was no denying he was pleased to see the crazy pilot.

"Shut up fool! I suppose you were messin' around with those crazy acrobatics of your's and crashed the plane – again!" he reprimanded sternly.

"Oh BA, it was truly a spectacular crash!" enthused Murdock. "We were whirling and twirling around like we were on the Merry Waltzers in the fairground. And all the time I kept thinking I wish you had shared the experience with me!"

BA ignored Murdock's jibber-jabber. The pilot knew how much BA hated flying!

"What did ya have to go and upset Faceman for? he demanded, gruffly, discreetly changing the subject. "He's been worried sick about ya!"

Murdock looked up over the crowd and saw Face standing next to Hannibal. The pilot edged his way slowly towards them, the injury to his back causing him to grimace inwardly. As he drew closer, he gave Hannibal a rather lopsided, casual salute as he made his report.

"All members of crew 55-06138 and its passengers present and correct, Colonel!" he quipped brightly.

"What happened, Captain?" asked Hannibal, as he returned his salute. "We thought you had taken up residency in one of the jungle hotels!"

"It was pretty close, Sir," replied Murdock. "We all escaped from the crash with just cuts and bruises but the unfriendlies were closing in on us. Luckily the gunships kept them at bay long enough for us to get a head start on them."

Hannibal acknowledged his report with a satisfying snigger. The gunships were equipped with some pretty impressive weapons and rockets – far superior to anything the VC could throw at them. He guessed they wouldn't have hung around too long once they knew the gunships were backing them up.

"Very good, Captain," he affirmed. "You and the others better get cleaned up and then report to the doctor on the double."

Murdock threw another sloppy salute at Hannibal. Ray and Fitz appeared, along with some of the other men and it took Murdock and his crew quite some time to finally get away from all the excitement that their homecoming had caused.

From the corner of his eye he could see the young First Lieutenant sidling away back towards the hooch. He hadn't spoken to him yet, but then Face never had been one for flowery sentiments and emotional shows of affection – except maybe if there was a pretty lady involved!

Somehow he managed to entangle himself from the crowd and he hastily followed Face across the compound.

"Hey Facey!" he shouted, trying to get his attention. "Don't I even get a welcome home kiss!"

Face stopped and waited for Murdock by the hooch. He was now huffing and puffing quite considerably, as the exertion and the pain in his back was almost reaching breaking point. Face grabbed on to him to steady him, his blue-grey eyes full of concern.

"How on earth did you ever survive out there?" asked Face, anxiously.

"Let's just say I got a quick crash course on jungle survival from the marines," answered Murdock. "Could have been a different story otherwise, muchacho," he added with a shudder.

Face nodded back at him in awe. The marines were hard-core. Not a lot fazed them – except maybe a whirlwind ride with one Howling' Mad Murdock! If you were going to spend 3 days stumbling around the jungle in sub-zero temperatures, then you could do a lot worse than being stuck with a marine or two!

"I've got something to show you," said Face, as he helped Murdock into the hooch. "I think you'll like it."

"Oh, goody, I love surprises!" mused the pilot, his eyes sparkling in expectation.

Murdock's face was a picture of complete delight when he saw the tree. He stumbled towards it, appreciating all the hard work that he knew Face had put into it, just to please him.

"It's wonderful, Face!" he whispered, his chocolate brown eyes full of gratitude.

They both stood together, watching as a medley of different colours and patterns from the decorations rebounded off the fairy lights and threw rainbow shadows around them.

"I prayed for you today," admitted Face suddenly. "Silly, isn't it!"

"Not at all," replied Murdock, becoming serious as he pondered over Face's words. "I pray to the Lord every time I go up in my Huey that I don't screw up and get somebody killed."

Face turned to Murdock in astonishment. It wasn't very often the pilot let his up-beat, zany personality slip. But just for a split second, the Lieutenant could see the weary expression on his buddy's face. He could feel the despair in his words and there was a dark and distant shadow lurking in his eyes.

He placed a reassuring hand on Murdock's shoulder. They were all on borrowed time. But just for now, they were safe and content. They had God. They had the team and they had each other. It was the nearest either of them had come to being part of a family in a long time. Nothing else really mattered.

"Merry Christmas, HM!" said Face, shyly, flashing one of his jaw-breaking smiles in his direction.

"Merry Christmas, Templeton!" replied Murdock, slapping him playfully on the back.

**Fini**

[_AN: I hope this wasn't too gooey and sentimental.__I wanted to write a Christmas story rather than another full-blown war story.__Thank-you for reading and please leave me a review if you can spare the time.__Merry Christmas everybody!_

[_Glossary – may not be 100% correct, but hopefully you will get the gist of it:_

_Cyclic: is used to change the altitude and airspeed of the helicopter by changing the pitch angle of the rotor blades. __  
>Tail rotor: prevents the helicopter fuselage from turning in circles continuously, and it is also used to control the helicopter's direction when it is being flown.<br>Stabilizer bar: has a weight or paddle at each end to help with stability.  
>Transmission: shaft that connects to the swash plate and main rotor.<br>Torque: spinning effect in the opposite direction of a rotor's spin.  
>Transitional lift: extra lift generated when a helicopter is in motion.<br>Autorotation: procedure for unpowered glide to ground. For this procedure to work, the rotors have to be disconnected to allow to spin freely.]_


End file.
